Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions for Agency Program Coordinators (APC) and Local Agency Program Coordinators (LAPC) using the Purchase Card Management System.

Setting Up Cardholders (CAMS)

Q. What is the Cardholder Account Maintenance Screen (CAMS)?

Q. Who can access CAMS?

Q. Does the CAMS feed to the Security Access Management System (SAMS)?

Q. How can I copy information from one cardholder record to another?

Q. After adding a cardholder in CAMS, can changes be made to the cardholder setup information?

Q. Should Profile Accounting changes be made in CAMS or in the Cardholder Profile Accounting screen?

Q. After entering a new cardholder in CAMS, the system generated Date Returned From Bank field is not populated, but the card has been received. Can the card be activated and utilized?

Q. My cardholder is unable to see his/her transactions in PCMS. What could be wrong?

User IDs (SAMS)

Q. What is the Security Access Code (SAC)?

Q. When would I use "Insert SAC?"

Q. When would I use "Remove SAC?"

Q. Does SAMS feed to CAMS?

Q. When an LAPC ID is dropped, does SAMS feed CAMS?

Q. When should a new National Finance Center (NFC) ID be assigned?

Maintaining Cardholders

Q. What are replacement accounts?

Q. When a card record is modified (Last Action Code = M), does it affect the actual cardholder's card?

Setting Up Cardholders (CAMS)

Q. What is the Cardholder Account Maintenance Screen (CAMS)?

A. The Cardholder Account Maintenance Screen is where an APC or LAPC can request a new cardholder account, modify an existing cardholder account, request a replacement card and delete a cardholder account.

Q. Who can access CAMS?

A. APCs and LAPCs should have CAMS access; however, the LAPC generally inputs cardholder data into CAMS.

Q. Does the CAMS feed to the Security Access Management System (SAMS)?

A. Yes. After a new cardholder is added in CAMS, a skeletal record is created in SAMS for that new Cardholder. When the CAMS record indicates the account number, the Local Agency Program Coordinator (LAPC) goes to SAMS and completes the SAMS record by entering the account number and assigning the cardholder a user id and password. This establishes PCMS access for the cardholder.

Q. How can I copy information from one cardholder record to another?

A. Access the record that you would like to copy. Click on Copy Record. Information will be copied into a new record for you to complete.

Q. After adding a cardholder in CAMS, can changes be made to the cardholder setup information?

A. Yes. Cardholder changes can be made in CAMS prior to the National Finance Center's (NFCs) daily electronic transmission of the CAMS file to the bank. This means that as long as the Date Sent to Bank field is blank, changes can be made. Once the record has been sent to the Bank, modifications cannot be made until the Date Returned From Bank field is complete. Emergency changes, such as to single or monthly limits can be by the LAPC or APC by calling GCSU at 1-800-558-0548. NOTE: When entering data into CAMS and/or SAMS, review all data for correctness before saving.

Q. Should Profile Accounting changes be made in CAMS or in the Cardholder Profile Accounting screen?

A. Profile Accounting changes should generally be made in PCMS in the Cardholder Profile Accounting screen. EXCEPTION: If a cardholder is moved from one Region/Unit to another, new profile accounting must be established in CAMS (particularly for Forest Service).

Q. After entering a new cardholder in CAMS, the system generated Date Returned From Bank field is not updated, but the card has been received. Can the card be activated and utilized?

A. Although not recommended, the card can be activated and utilized if necessary, when the card is received. Generally, it takes 7-10 business days to from the time an account is requested in PCMS until it is loaded into PCMS.

If it has been more than 10 days and the account is not showing up in PCMS, please contact the Help Desk.

Q. My cardholder is unable to see his/her transactions in PCMS. What could be wrong?

A. If your cardholder is able to login to PCMS but unable to review his/her transactions, first go to the CAMS screen and ensure that the account has been loaded into PCMS.

If the account has not been loaded and it has been more than 10 business days since the account was issued, contact the PCMS Help Desk at (504) 426-5695 to request that the account be loaded into PCMS.

If the account has been loaded into PCMS, ensure that the cardholder has been setup with the correct Security Access Code in SAMS.

User IDs (SAMS)

Q. What is the Security Access Code (SAC)?

A. The SAC consists of the Program Code, Department Code, Agency Code, Region, Unit, Sub Unit and the last 10 digits of the cardholder's account number for purchase cards. NOTE: If the SAC is not exactly the same as the cardholder's PCMS data, the cardholder will not be able to see their transactions.

Q. When would I use "Insert SAC?"

A. Inserting SAC criteria is giving additional access levels for a given ID/role. For instance, if an LAPC has a SAC of 12 11 06 01 which allows the LAPC to see all cardholders in Region 06, Unit 01 and now has responsibility for cardholders in Unit 02, the APC would use "Insert SAC" to add Unit 02 to the ID.

Q. When would I use "Remove SAC?"

A. "Remove SAC" is used when you make a mistake entering the SAC or that specific access level is removed from that individual's scope of authority. Remove a SAC number that is entered incorrectly before any transactions go through to the account. If SAMS indicates that there are transactions against the SAC, you can't remove it and will need to contact NFC.

Q. Does SAMS feed to CAMS?

A. SAMS does feed the initial entry of the LAPC information into CAMS' Update LAPC screen. The LAPC must go in later and complete and/or update this information through CAMS.

Q. When an LAPC ID is dropped, does SAMS feed CAMS?

A. No.

Q. When should a new National Finance Center (NFC) ID be assigned?

A. A new NFC ID should be assigned only to users who do not currently have access to NFC systems. For example if a user already has an NFC ID, enter that ID in SAMS rather than selecting a new ID from the List. Additional characters can be added to existing IDs for additional roles (e.g. AB01=LAPC, AB01F=LFPC (an "F" if someone has fleet and purchase authorities)).

Maintaining Cardholders

Q. What are replacement cards?

A. Replacement cards are exact duplicates of an existing card and should only be ordered when the card itself is damaged or the magnetic strip is no longer functioning. Once the new card is received, the old card is to be destroyed and documentation kept for review purposes. At no time should there be more than one credit card issued for a cardholder.

Q. When a card record is modified (Last Action Code = M), does it affect the actual cardholder's card?

A. Whenever changes are made to certain fields in PCMS, the action code changes to "M". This means that the Bank of America will issue a new card with the embossing and/or magnetic strip information changed. However, the account number will not be changed.

The cardholder should destroy the old credit card once the new one is received.